WALT (We Are Learning To): Identify and describe different methods of data collection and explain why accurate data gathering is important in statistics.

Success Criteria — I can:

✅ Name at least three methods of data collection ✅ Match a method to a suitable situation ✅ Explain why accurate data matters

📚 Part 1: Multiple Choice & True/False

Circle the best answer for each question.

1. Which of the following is an example of a survey?

Counting the number of cars passing a school gate each hour

Asking 30 students what their favourite sport is

Measuring the height of plants in a science experiment

Reading last year's school roll from a database

2. A researcher watches shoppers in a supermarket and records what they buy without talking to them. This is called:

A survey

An experiment

Observation

Secondary data collection

3. Which data collection method would be most suitable for finding out the average rainfall in Auckland over the past 10 years?

Conducting a survey of Auckland residents

Using existing weather records from NIWA

Observing the sky each day for a week

Running a class experiment

4. True or False — Circle your answer and write a reason below.

"It doesn't matter if a few survey responses are missing — the data will still be accurate enough."

True

False

Reason: _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

5. True or False — Circle your answer.

"Secondary data is information you collect yourself through surveys or experiments."

True

False

🔗 Part 2: Matching

Draw a line to match each data collection method to its correct description.

Survey / Questionnaire

Observation

Experiment

Secondary Data

Watching and recording what happens without interfering

Using data already collected by someone else (e.g. census, websites)

Asking people a set of questions to gather their opinions or facts

Changing one variable and measuring the effect on another

✏️ Part 3: Short Answer & Scenario

6. Name two things that could make survey data inaccurate.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________________

7. Scenario: Hemi wants to find out how many hours per week Year 7 students at his school spend playing video games. He decides to ask only his five best friends.

(a) What data collection method is Hemi using? _________________________________________

(b) Give one reason why his results might not be reliable:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

(c) Suggest a better way Hemi could collect this data:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

8. In your own words, explain why it is important to collect data accurately. Give a real-life example from New Zealand to support your answer.

🌟 Extension Activity (Challenge!)

For students who have completed all questions — push your thinking further!

Design your own data collection plan! Choose a question you are curious about (e.g. "What is the most popular lunch food at our school?").

My question: _______________________________________________________________

Method I would use: _________________________________________________________

Who I would collect data from (my sample): ______________________________________

One possible problem with my method and how I would fix it:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

💡 Differentiation tip for learners who need support: Use the word bank below to help you with Part 1 and Part 2.

✅ Answer Key (Teacher / Self-Assessment)

Q1: Asking 30 students what their favourite sport is

Q2: Observation

Q3: Using existing weather records from NIWA

Q4: False — Missing data can skew results and make conclusions unreliable

Q5: False — Secondary data is collected by someone else; primary data is collected yourself

Matching: Survey → Asking people questions | Observation → Watching without interfering | Experiment → Changing a variable | Secondary Data → Using existing data

Q6: Accept any two valid answers, e.g. biased questions, small sample size, dishonest responses, leading questions, sample not representative

Q7a: Survey (informal / convenience sample) Q7b: Only asking friends may not represent all Year 7 students (biased sample) Q7c: Randomly survey a larger group of Year 7 students across different classes

Q8: Accept well-reasoned responses that mention consequences of poor data (e.g. wrong decisions, wasted resources) with a relevant NZ example such as census data, health surveys, or sports statistics.